Second Earthquake Rocks Iran

A powerful earthquake hit southeast Iran on Tuesday afternoon. The 7.8 magnitude quake was felt in Pakistan, India and as far as the Persian Gulf.

Dozens of people have been confirmed dead, and officials say they expect the death toll to rise into the hundreds. While the quake’s epicenter was on a desolate area along the Iran-Pakistan border, there are cities nearby that are home to over two million people.

An official quoted by Reuters said the quake was “the biggest earthquake in Iran in 40 years.”

Just days earlier Iran was hit by a powerful earthquake that struck near the Bushehr nuclear power plant. Thirty-seven people were killed, and homes were damaged in dozens of villages.

In 2003 a 6.6-magnitude earthquake in the city of Bam killed at least 26,000 people.